Chapter 18: Jade?

*Steve Roger’s POV*

            Tony’s been a complete ass the last few days, and we all just needed to take a break. Bruce has either been in his lab or room, Thor went to London to visit Jane, Clint, Natasha and I need to stay here, so we’ve all been secluded in our rooms and Tony is non-stop in his workshop. Peter hasn’t been seen since Viper escaped, but he needs his space. Although I didn’t mind staying at the tower, I needed to do something and whenever I go to the gym in the tower, someone always comes to talk. So I decided to go to one of the gyms in town. Unfortunately the only time I can escape is late at night, but I don’t really sleep anyway.

            I walk into the gym and see a girl packing her things. She has several piercings in her ears and two in her face. She also has quite a few tattoos across her arms. Her tanktop also reveals a small moon tattoo on her right shoulder blade. She is very beautiful, but much to Tony’s dismay, I don’t think I’ll be finding someone anytime soon. And if I do, I have a feeling that they won’t look like her. She glances up, so I dart my eyes away and go set my things down. I hear her walk away and when I look back up I see she left her water bottle. I look back to her, her hairs down now, and say,

            “Excuse me.” She slowly turns and with a French accent says, 

       “Yes?”

       “Is this yours?” I ask holding up the water bottle.

       “Oui.” She quickly says, grabbing it. “Thank you Mr. Rogers.” She says with a smile. So she’s heard of Captain America? It really should have been in fact Captain, not Mr. but it doesn’t matter. I return the smile and say,

            “Of course, ma’am.” I take one good look at her and feel like I know her, but before I can ask, she’s left.

            I walk over to the punching bags and see one on the floor, ripped and the hook on top is bent. Did that girl do this? Walking away from the bag, I go to my own. I begin casually hitting the bag, but them images of the war surface in my mind, causing me to get more violent. Next I begin thinking of the Battle of New York. Holding off the Chitauri, Loki’s crazy plan, Stark carrying a nuke into space. I hear the Hulk roar which causes me to slam my fist into the punching and it goes soaring off the hinge and into the wall. I look at it and then to the other one. This gym will have a surprise in the morning. I walk to my bag and wipe my face.

            “Well it’s a good thing you came here, we were fresh out of punching bags.” I hear behind me. I smile and say,

            “You know, that’s not entirely my fault. I remember seeing a few arrows in them as well.” I turn and see Clint standing with his arms crossed. “How’d you find me?” I ask.

            “You aren’t the only one who wants out of the tower. I saw you through the window.” He says walking up to me.

            “So what were you up to tonight?”

            “Oh, just went and got a drink and you know what I think, Steve?” He asks while putting an arm around me.

            “What do you think, Clint?”

            “You need a drink too.”

            “You know I can’t get drunk.”

            “Doesn’t hurt to try.” Clint says patting my back and turning towards the door. I begin to follow him, but stop when I hear his phone go off. He pulls it out and looks at me with a stern face. “Guess that drink’ll have to wait, Cap. The kid’s back.”

            “Right, maybe some other time.” I say and we exit the gym and head to the tower.

            We get back to the tower and everyone’s in the living room on the 80th floor, even Thor’s back. The one person I don’t see is Peter.

            “I thought you said Peter’s back?” I ask while walking in the room with Clint.

            “He is.” Natasha says while jerking her head to the balcony. I set my stuff down and walk outside.

            “How you doin’ kid?” I ask walking up behind Peter.

            “Why’d she leave?” He asks back, ignoring my question. I give a heavy sigh and respond.

            “I don’t know. She is a criminal and most criminals want to escape. Not all of them are as smart as her though.”

            “I know, but I thought that if I was here… she would stay.”

            “Peter, I know you must have been pretty close to Viper, but right now we need to find her. It’s been 12 days, and it’s time.” Finally turning to look at me, Peter says,

            “Alright. Oh, and I’m sorry for taking so long.”

            “Hey it’s okay. You needed your time.” I say as we walk back inside.   

            “And now that you’ve had that time, we need you to help us find Leiton.” Tony says standing up from the couch.

            “What do you already have?” Peter asks.

            “We found the jet she stole in Buffalo, and we’ve already searched the area, but couldn’t find her. Do you think she would go far?” Natasha says.

            “No, she ran for a year after she escaped and it was the worst year for her. She wouldn’t run again. She’s most likely still in New York.” Peter answers. Everyone is gathered in the center of the living room now.

            “You said she took you to her apartment, maybe she’s still there?” Bruce suggests.

            “I already looked. Unless Jade is an 86 year-old Swedish man, then she’s not there.” Peter continues.

            “Do you know anything about her that could help us find her?” I finally ask.

            “Well she said she always wanted an apartment high up, so she could look out at the city. She also has some tattoos.” Peter answers while sitting down on the couch.

            “What kind of tattoos?” Tony asks, looking down to Peter. Peter closes his eyes and thinks for a moment.

            “On her right arm she has bird’s different shadows of the sunset flying, there’s a compass on her hand, and on her left wrist, I think, there’s the word ‘freedom’ with part of the m flying off into a bird. She has more, but on her back and sides.” Peter finishes, opening his eyes.

            “That sounds like the French girl I saw at the gym. Does she have a crescent moon on her right shoulder blade?” I ask Peter. Standing Peter says,

            “Yeah, wait did you say French girl?”

            “Could Leiton pull off a genuine French accent?” Natasha asks.

            “See I told you that was her Nat!” Clint says throwing his hands up and turning away from the group.

            “Natasha what does he mean?” Bruce asks.

            “When Clint and I went out to get that thing for Tony, we saw a girl drop her jacket and we returned it to her. She was French and had tattoos and piercings.”

            “Peter, does Jade have piercings? Like one on her lip, nose and some on her ears?” I ask eagerly, looking at Peter.

            “Yeah, she does. Clint, if you thought it was Jade, why didn’t you get her?”

            “She changed her hair. Plus with all that metal in her face she looked different. I was suspicious, but Nat dismissed my theory.” Clint answers turning back to us. We all look to Natasha.

            “How was I supposed to know Leiton would be dumb enough to get something as distinctive as a tattoo?” Nat yells at us.          
            “Hey, that was the one thing she wanted when she escaped!” Peter shouts at her, defending Leiton. I want to say something about that, but don’t because I know he has a history with Leiton and feels obligated to defend her.

            “What do you mean by escaped, Peter?” Thor asks.

            “If you mean escaped France, I don’t see why you said ‘escaped’.” Tony says.

            “Why can’t you just tell us what happened to her? It’s not that dig of a deal.” Natasha says.

            “How would you feel if you were a French slave?! For 9 years!” Peter shouts at us. It took us all by surprise. Peter continues yelling. “Just because Jade didn’t fight against aliens, or took care of terrorist attacks doesn’t mean she hasn’t had a fucked up life! Jade was right, none of you knew her. You don’t know what she’s been through, what she was forced to do. She’s told me the stories, in horrifying detail, and I still can’t imagine what she’s been through.” We all stand there in silence. Peter’s breathing is harsh and his eyes are red as he chokes tears back. He really cares about her… I walk up to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

            “Then help us.” I say looking at him.

            “I told you, Jade probably already hates me and if I tell you what happened there’s no way she’ll ever trust me.” Peter answers. I look down at my feet and sigh. He’s right.

            “Okay, then.” I say looking back to Peter. I turn to the rest of the group and say, “I say we all get some rest tonight and in the morning we go get Leiton. Nat, Clint do you remember where she lives?” They both nod in response. “And I do mean, we all get some sleep.” I say first looking at Bruce and then Tony. Tony looks away and then turns saying,

            “Wake me when the fun begins.” Instead of going to his lab like I thought he would, he turns down the hallway towards his room. I turn back to Peter and say,

            “Come on, I’ll take you to your room.” We leave the group and walk down the hall. “Here you go.” I say as we come to a door. I pat his shoulder again and make my way down the hall to my room.

            “Steve.” I hear behind me.

            “Yes?” I answer looking back.

            “Jade had been in a cell before, and she was tortured and tested on in them.” Peter says, not looking at me and referring back to Leiton’s interrogation. I sigh, and turn to look at him.

            “Thank you for telling me, but like she said, I can’t give my opinion on her.” He turns to me and says,

            “I know, and maybe when you do get to know Jade, you’ll see who she really is. Viper is just her alias.” He opens the door and walks into his room. I turn and go to my room. After changing I lay down on my bed and will myself to sleep.

***

            I’m in the lab where I was crated into a super soldier. Howard by the control panel, Peggy in the observation booth, Doctor Erskine in front of the capsule and me in the capsule screaming

            “No! Don’t! I can do this!” I look down and see my Captain America uniform. When I look back up, I see Bucky on a lab table, mumbling nonsense. I try to run to him, but I’m already there, picking him up and helping him out of the room. My gaze follows Bucky and me out of the room and when I look back, I’m in a dark room with one small window, high to the ceiling. Like a cell on the SHIELD heli-carrier. Light pools in and I look around. I see nothing and then I hear a sniff. I whip around and see a girl with long blonde hair in the corner hugging her legs to her chest. I take a few steps towards her, but stop when I see she’s crying.

            “Are you okay?” I ask. She looks up and says,

            “Of course not. I’m a slave and am tortured every day. But you would know.” She says. I try to get a better look at the girl and when I do I see who she is. Her arms are bare of the ink though.

            “Jade?” I ask but before she answers, the door swings open and in walks a man. He walks right through me and to the girl. I turn and see the girl trying to get away, but the man picks her up by her throat and holds her against the wall. She cries out in pain and I run to the man. I grab his shoulder and pull him away from her. I hear her slump to the ground and when I pull the man into the light, ready to attack him, I’m starring back at myself.

            I jolt up, shaking and sweaty. I look down at my quivering hands and put them in my lap. I’m breathing heavily and when I breathe out I also say, “It was just a dream.” Once my breathing returns to normal I throw the covers off and get up. When I pass the mirror, I see my shirtless body and look down. I hurt that girl, that girl was Jade Leiton, Viper. No it was just a dream. I didn’t hurt anyone, but does that mean I want to? Of course not I saved her, but why would I save someone like Viper? Because it’s the right thing to do. A voice in the back of my head says. I sigh and shake my head as I look away from the mirror. I throw on a hoodie and leave my room. I rub my face and walk into the kitchen. When I open the fridge, the light causes me to squint and look away. I hear a chuckle and turn to see Thor sitting at the kitchen table.

            “Can’t sleep as well, my friend?” He asks. I look back to the fridge and grab a water bottle before answering.

            “Just a bad dream, you?”

            “Conflicting thoughts.” He says as he pulls out a chair next to him. I sit down and take a sip of water. “Would you like to talk about the dream?” He asks. I think about it for a minute. If I don’t, I’ll probably be too distracted tomorrow, or today. I look at the clock and see its 5 a.m. Looking back to Thor I say,

            “If you share those thoughts of yours.” He smiles and says,

            “Deal.” While gesturing for me to talk.

            “I had a dream first about the war and the super soldier serum and then… I was in a dark cell with… Leiton and she was crying. I walked over to her, but then a man came in and took her throat and started to hurt her. I grabbed the man and when I turned him towards me… it was me.” Thor processes this and says,

            “It seems like you, yourself are conflicted. You feel like you hurt Leiton and now you wish to apologize to her and make things right.” I think about this. Thor might be right, but now that I have that off my chest I don’t want to think about it anymore, so I say,

            “Now, what do you feel conflicted about?”

            “Is it right to lock up Lady Viper when she spent most of her life as a slave?” He asks. his eyes filled with true worry and concern. I look down to the water bottle and think about Thor’s words. Part of me says he’s right but another part of me denies it all. Viper is a criminal whose committed so many crimes, but she’s obviously a good person if Peter still believes in her. But she’s killed people. You have too. Because I had to. That’s why she kills. How would you know?... Because that’s what she said. Leiton said she only kills when she has too in her interrogation. I must have been showing my thoughts across my face because Thor says,

            “I see you are conflicted as well.”

            “Thor, I think we both know what the right thing to do is, but SHIELD isn’t going to let that happen. Not to mention Fury.” He sighs and says,

            “I agree.” After sitting in silence for a few minutes I look at the clock. 5:32 a.m. I did say everyone should sleep, so I say,

            “Thank you Thor. Now, I think we both should try and get some sleep before we go.”

            “Of course, Steve. And thank you.” I nod to him and he walks to the elevator, seeing as his room is one floor above us and I walk down the hall and back to my room. I lay down and close my eyes and drift off into, thankfully, a dreamless sleep.  

A/N: Hey everyone!! I know this took a long time as well as the last update, but I was busy with school and Girl Scouts, but since I'm on Thanksgiving Break you can be sure to see a couple more updates this week. 

So, how did you like Steve's point of view? I really like writing as him and will probably do so again. But what I really want to know is what you all think of his dream! I kinda had a hard time figuring it out, but I hope it pleased you! 

Also, what do you think of Steve's and Thor's thoughts about Jade? What about Peter's outburst back there? How do you think they'll go about things when it comes to capturing Jade again? I want to know all of your predictions so leave them in the comments. 

The picture attached is the moon tattoo Steve and Peter talk about. Again, I will be revealing the others to you as the story goes along.

Please leave your thoughts and questions in the comments! I love talking to all of you. Oh, and I also love votes! Thank you all so much, and I'll see you in a couple days!

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